Daniela Vargas, a native of Argentina who was detained by US immigration agents after she publicly criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, is expected to be released, her attorney Nathan Elmore said Friday.
Elmore said he was concerned that a deportation order against Vargas has not been rescinded. She is being held at an ICE detention center in Louisiana.
“We have not seen the order that released her, so there are technical aspects that cause doubts prior to seeing that,” Elmore said, explaining it’s unclear what the details or conditions of her release are.
Vargas, 22, qualified for a temporary reprieve from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but her DACA status expired in November.
She was detained last week after speaking at a news conference in Jackson, Mississippi, about the arrests of her father and brother by ICE agents.
Vargas’ attorneys filed a petition this week in federal court asking for her immediate release.
The habeas petition, which was filed Monday in US District Court in Alexandria, Louisiana, said that “ICE agents arrested and detained Ms. Vargas in retaliation for the exercise of her First Amendment rights,” referring to the news conference where she spoke.
“Ms. Vargas’ continued detention and inability to contest her detention and removal violate her Fifth and First Amendment rights.”
ICE released a statement last week saying Vargas was arrested during one of its “targeted enforcement” operations.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Daniela Vargas, 22, an unlawfully present Argentinian citizen, into custody March 1, during a targeted immigration enforcement action in Jackson, Mississippi,” the statement said.
Vargas said she came to the United States with her family at age 7 as an undocumented immigrant and later was granted DACA status.
One of her attorneys, Abby Peterson, said Vargas could not immediately afford the minimum $495 renewal application fee after her DACA status expired and she put off the process until last month. The government recommends DACA recipients apply for a renewal between 120 and 150 days before their status expires.
Days after Vargas reapplied, her father and brother were taken into ICE custody at their home, on February 15.